Now there are twelve!

Last year, 2025, I launched the Cater Allergy Safer Programme.

It didn’t just happen; a lot of work has been involved with developing it.

In January 2024, after delivering a Level 3 Food Safety course, a client asked about allergen training for their staff, and how they could do better. We had several conversations, and then we started working things out.

What needed to be done?

What training did the staff need?

How do we show and tell our customers that we care about keeping them safe when they have food allergies?

What I heard was ‘Help!’

Adventure Island, Southend on Sea, Essex has won many awards for what they do, including Best Seaside Park, Best Value Theme Park, and TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Award.

They also have 26 individual food outlets, so it was a mammoth task to get them all on track to be able to Cater Allergy Safer.

From sweet shop, tea room, ice-cream parlour, fish and chips, hotdogs, donuts, and pizzas, to Sands by the Sea restaurant where King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla had lunch, there really was a lot to do.

In May 2025, I went back to carry out the Cater Allergy Safer Audit. It didn’t take long to realise just how passionate James was to ensure the safety of food allergic diners.

There had already been full ingredient lists to go with the menus. There were also some dedicated fryers, a statement on menus and boards reminding customers to tell staff that they had a food allergy, and the staff had lists of menu choices so they could give customers information about what they could have, rather than what they cannot have.

During those inspections, I  mentioned that it would be good if there could be better signage reminding customers to talk about their allergies. When I went back on day two, there were red signs being put up at welcome and service points. Now that shows dedication!

Five food outlets gained Cater Allergy Safer Recognition and Registration. You can find out more about the programme on https://caterallergysafer.co.uk

A return visit to update the rating

In June this year, I went back to deliver some more allergen management training and repeat the audits. As you can imagine, running a site of around 7 acres, with 26 food outlets, 40 rides, activities and a Sea Life Centre requires a lot of staff!

The work that had continued over the past 12 months at Adventure Island was very encouraging. As I went round the units, I could see the difference, so much so that I had to add more sections to the audit documents. The outcome this year is that there are now 12, yes, twelve outlets that have gained at least one star on the programme.

Follow Cater Allergy Safer on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, and Stella Holt on LinkedIn to see which outlets gained stars.

Look for the window clings onsite next time you are there.

 

I also introduced a new sticker for outlets to show that they are doing everything they can to keep the FHS community as safe as possible, and in some cases this means that they cannot safely serve those with food allergies because of the size of the unit and the nature of food served there. At these units, the staff will be able to direct customers to another outlet where they can accommodate many dietary requirements. 

 

Across the whole of Adventure Island, there are options for Gluten free, Milk free, Egg free, Vegan, and even some of the scooped ice-cream is, what my family call ‘Mum safe’, meaning that it does not contain gluten grains, egg, milk, or soya.

I could even have the gluten free fish and chips at Sands by the Sea, because, although I can’t have soya protein, I can have foods cooked in soya oil. Another treat for me, is to be able to have the ‘Non brewed condiment’, which is just like vinegar, which is a must with fish and chips!

Watch out for the update on the website to find out which outlets gained how many stars! It is coming soon.